Hearing that President Clinton will attend the Human Rights Campaign dinner for gay civil rights, together with Ellen DeGeneres, makes me very proud of the progress our nation has made on this issue and hopeful for the future.

Twenty years ago it was unthinkable that a president would even mention the word gay, much less advocate equality, understanding and fair treatment for gay people.

Twenty years ago, network television and movie portrayals of gay people fed the negative stereotypes that led to fear-motivated legislation. Today, prime-time television includes a gay woman in a lead role and 23 other gay characters, all of whom are leading the ordinary, decent lives that most real gay people lead.

A rough estimate would be that 25 percent of the population has a gay or lesbian family member. Gay people also work, go to school and play sports. Maybe 50 percent or more of the population has a gay friend or colleague.

And taking this a step further, there is probably not one person in society who has not had dealings with a gay person as an acquaintance or on a business level. My point is this: we are one society, and we are in this together.

It is sadly true that gay people continue to face misunderstanding, fear, hatred, discrimination and often violence. There is a well-organized anti-gay campaign in this country which tries to scare people into the belief that gay people are the enemy, that they are all weirdos or worse.

But it’s heartening to see that most people are coming down squarely on the side of reason, goodwill and fair-mindedness. Hats off to every one of them.

Alan L. Light

Iowa City